This study was published at the time of COP21 in Paris (2015) under the headline Why the Paris climate deal must put the poorest, lowest emitting, and most vulnerable people first.
“Climate change is inextricably linked to economic inequality: it is a crisis that is driven by the greenhouse gas emissions of the ‘haves’ that hits the ‘have-nots’ the hardest. In this briefing, Oxfam demonstrates the extent of global carbon inequality by estimating and comparing the lifestyle consumption emissions of rich and poor citizens in different countries.
Strikingly, our estimates of the scale of this inequality suggest that the poorest half of the global population–around 3.5 billion people–are responsible for only around 10% of total global emissions attributed to individual consumption, yet live overwhelmingly in the countries most vulnerable to climate change.”
Within weeks, we will see whether the world’s political leaders intend to change their approach and bring about the complete socioeconomic transformation that is needed to stabilize the climate.